


Unconditionally

by inkandwords



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Multi, aokiseweek, atsu fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 06:24:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1768915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkandwords/pseuds/inkandwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aomine fucks up big time and it takes more than "I'm sorry" to win back Kise's thousand-watt smile.</p>
<p>Written for <a href="http://aokiseweek.tumblr.com">AoKise Week</a> on Tumblr. Day 4 Prompt: Inspired by a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHimjVYsd6I">song</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unconditionally

Aomine knows he's in trouble. He knows it even before he reaches the door of the apartment he shares with Kise, his phone clutched tightly in his hand like a lifeline, even if Kise's ignored every call and text he's sent.

"Oi, Ryouta, open up!"

Silence greets him despite the loud knocking that can probably wake the entire neighborhood. Kise's insomnia, sometimes brought on by stress from work, rages with the resistance to sleep, more so when they've had it out like a bunch of love-sick teenagers involved in an emotional brawl. The light from their window emits a faint glow, dimmer through the curtain of rain that's insistent on soaking every bone and fiber of Aomine's body. He knows Kise is still awake, knows he is probaby stomping around their apartment cleaning the place, or worse yet, gathering the ace's belongings to ceremoniously fling them at him in that movie-drama way once he does end up opening the door. 

Aomine couldn't argue with it if Kise did. He deserves it. He did forget Kise's birthday, after all. 

"Ryouta! C'mon! It's not funny anymore! I'm sorry, okay? Practice has been running late and then the guys wanna go out after and by the time I get home, I'm burned out. Haven't you ever forgotten something before? Just let me in, will ya? Before it fucking floods out here?"

The door yanks open to reveal the blond, clad in sweats and looking like he wants nothing more than to throttle the ace. Kise's hands clench at his sides and for a moment, Aomine thinks Kise would actually deck him. Not that Kise's ever seriously tried. "That's your apology?! If it is, you need new material because that can barely earn you forgiveness, let alone rights to come into my apartment."

"Hah? But where the hell am I supposed to go?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Kise snaps. "I'd name off potential places, but oh, would you look at that. I've conveniently forgotten." And without another word, Kise slams the door in his face, leaving Aomine soaked and shivering and without a viable place to stay. 

* * *

 

Weeks since the incident, his call list is filled with lines of red, phone calls left unanswered. His text window looks like he's been talking to himself, each 'I'm sorry', 'I love you', and everything in between left without replies. Kise is usually the first to break the ice after a fight, the first to offer a brilliant smile, tentative at first, but gaining intensity once the tension lifts and they're back to normal like nothing ever happened. 

Most of their fights are Aomine's fault. He didn't know it at the time, but weeks to think about things changes a person's perspective. He's forgetful, crass, carelessly tactless, but even then, Kise always forgave his idiocy, his lack of common sense. Aomine's jealous streak and possessiveness puts even the clingiest of females to shame, the cause of many arguments between them that leaves Kise apologetic and sometimes in tears for something he hasn't done wrong. 

The thoughts bring a rising ache in Aomine's chest every single time, wrapping around the muscle beating in its cage and threatening to suffocate it. 

Kagami offered to let him stay at his place and Aomine considered it, opting out at the last minute because he realizes he doesn't want anyone to see what Kise's absence has done to him. Hotels are expensive, but his pride is still his pride and stupidly, he thinks he can salvage it. He can't stand the looks of pity he knows would be there, mirror images of the one that stares back at him each time he catches his own reflection. 

"You really should talk to him."

Aomine eyes clear, the fog in his head lifting just enough that he manages to look like he's been paying a modicum of attention. "Huh? Talk to who?"

"Kuroko's fucking dog," Kagami says as he rolls his eyes, knees still bent like he's waiting to spring the moment Aomine lets go of the ball. "Who else do you think? Kise, talk to Kise."

"Tried," Aomine mutters, fingers gripping the ball before he shoots. The sound of the net grounds him, familiar and comforting. Something he knows; something he can count on. "He won't talk to me. Besides, I'm fine."

"Yeah, I can see how fine you are. Kise was right. You need a lesson in Bullshit 101."

"Wait, you talked to Kise?" Aomine grabs the ball from where it rolled across the blacktop and passes it to Kagami with a dull thud. "Shit, sorry, man. Didn't mean to throw it that hard."

"A few times when he comes over to see Kuroko. I don't get why you guys don't just make up. He's just as miserable as you are. It's kinda tragic, really. Like one of those Korean dramas Kise's sister got me into."

"Am I really that bad? Thought I was doing pretty well at looking okay, at least."

"Are you serious? You've been dribbling that stupid ball in the same spot for the last five minutes. I figured, I'd better say something soon before it gets dark and you're still standing there like a brainless moron. Besides, that's my ball and hell if I'm gonna let you swipe it after you deflated the last one with one of those ridiculous shots."

"Not my fault you got a cheap ball."

"See? That. Right there. That's what's wrong with you." Kagami manages to dribble past him and dunk the ball before Aomine realizes what happened. "Geez, you've really got it bad. You didn't even try to stop that shot, dickbag! If you're not gonna try, there's no use in playing."

"Eh? What the hell are you talking about?" 

"You just kinda stood there with that dumb look on your face and--"

"No, baka. I meant the other thing. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You don't see it, do ya? Shit, I thought  _I_  was an idiot. You've got me beat by a long shot."

Aomine scowls and it's only because Kagami knows things that he doesn't does he refrain from hitting the redhead's face dead center with the basketball. "Cut the bullshit, huh? What did Kise say?"

Reluctant as Kagami looks to say anything more, he finally palms his face and shakes his head like he's about to reveal the end of the world. "He thinks you don't give a shit."

"He... said that?" Aomine asks, incredulous. He crouches down and grips the basketball before he sends it through the air, the hoop swishing as the shot sinks in. "That's a load of crap. Of course I give a shit! It was just one fucking birthday. Why does he make a big deal out of everything?"

"Oh, I dunno, probably 'cause you make a big deal out of nothing. Ever. And that's verbatim." Kagami catches the ball, but this time, he holds on to it. "Bottom line, that's what he thinks. You're always making up excuses for every goddamn thing you do wrong; it's always someone else's fault, something else to blame. Take responsibility for your shit before Kise realizes what an irredeemable asshole you are."

"Thought I already was."

"You'll see when you talk to him then, won't you? He's probably sitting outside my apartment building right now, waiting for Kuroko to come home from work. I swear, you guys are worse than the Korean dramas." Kagami laughs and sets the ball down next to his duffle bag. He tosses Aomine a water bottle. "The hell are you waiting for?  _Go._  Run!"

Aomine doesn't need to be told twice. By the time he reaches Kagami's building, he's out of breath, adrenaline coursing through his veins, electric like live wire. Palms sweaty and heart beating so rapidly he thinks it's going to jump right out of his goddamn chest because fuck, Kise's sitting there and everything in him screams with how much he's missed the blond. He stops a few feet from where Kise sits, hands braced against his knees, frame bent over and heaving as he gulps down breaths that burn through his lungs like wildfire. 

"Un... condi--" he gasps, chest tight while he struggles for air. Shaking his head, he inhales sharply and tries again. "...uncon-- unconditionally."

"What? Aominecchi, you shouldn't be here--" Kise's voice catches and something yanks on the thread Aomine is certain connects him to the one person who knows him best, the one who gives meaning to the word that he struggles to repeat. 

"Just... let me... talk," he pleads between breaths. "Okay?"

Kise's eyes narrow, that golden gaze boring into him in that way that gives Aomine a shred of hope. Maybe, just maybe, he's not irredeemable, after all. Finally, Kise nods. "Okay."

Even though he tries to keep his expression void of emotion, Aomine sees it behind the mock facade; faint, but enough to fuel him. He sinks to his knees in front of Kise, hands finding a matching pair and forehead resting against his knuckles with a sort of sudden desperation he didn't know he was ever capable of.  

"I give a shit. More than I thought I could, more than I ever have. About anyone." His eyes close and he takes a deep breath in preparation. If he's going through with it, he might as well lay out all the cards. "I love you, you idiot. Unconditionally. Stupidly. Like the whole chest-drowning-pain-can't-live-without-you shit." He lifts his head, gaze locking with a familiar one and suddenly he's home. "I'm an idiot and I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry and I don't know how to fix it. I just want to fucking fix it."

"That's all I wanted to hear. That. I wanted to hear it enough that I feel it. I just wanted you to want me as much as I wanted you."

Aomine sighs, shakes his head, and raises himself enough so that their lessened proximity leaves him a breath's distance from Kise's lips. "It's you, just you. You're the only one that matters. The only one that ever will. Okay?"

Kise looks hesitant, but, after a long moment, warm lips press against his as Kise smiles, brilliant like the sun, and finally says, "...okay."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @ [limitlessmonster](http://limitlessmonster.tumblr.com). :D


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